Falling
by yellink
Summary: There's a thin line between love and hate...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer - J. K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter universe.**

** Listen to while reading - Paramore: Ignorance /OH9A6tn_P6g**

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_'My only love sprung from my only hate!  
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!  
Prodigious birth of love it is to me  
That I must love a loathed enemy –'_

"Miss Weasley", Professor Longbottom calls, causing me to jump. "What is the best way to kill an Angel's Trumpet while ensuring no harm to oneself?"

I reply quickly. "Diffindo, or any other severing spells are the best defence against an Angel's Trumpet, because any spell that causes it to burn will release the poison in the leaves into the air. This poisons gas results in instant death if breathed in, and sever inflammation if it comes into contact with skin, that is also fatal if not treated immediately."

"Very good! 5 points to Gryffindor", the Professor smiles. "Now, Mister Balordo…"

I tune out and open my cleverly disguised copy of Romeo and Juliet again. I don't see it necessary for me to read the Herbology textbook like the rest of the class should be, as I already have it practically memorised. Anyway, Muggle literature fascinates me.

At the end of the lesson, I wait for the rest of the class to leave before saying goodbye to Professor Longbottom and heading out of the greenhouse to go to my next class.

"It must be sad to have nothing else to do except memorise textbooks all day", a voice behind me mutters.

I stop walking to whip around and see the pale, pointed face of Scorpius Malfoy sneering at me. I glare at him, but turn back and continue my way to Potions. I don't know why his attacks hurt me more than the rest of the Slytherins. Maybe it's because he usually formulates them more than just 'insufferable know-it-all', like everyone else.

Maybe.

Thankfully the Slytherins don't share Potions with us, so he eventually has to leave me be and head off to his own class. I push all thoughts of the slimy little ferret to the back of my head during potions, and after another great mark from Professor Rigorosa, my mind was focused completely on having lunch and continuing _Romeo and Juliet_.

As I walk down to the Great Hall, I hear a commotion in a nearby corridor, so I take a detour to investigate properly.

"Don't you dare turn your wand at me, Death Eater!" my cousin, James, calls as he fires off an unspoken hex.

Malfoy hastily dodges the hex thrown at him. "I am _not_ a Death Eater, Potter!" he yells back. "Petrificus!"

James lazily deflects the spell, and retorts, "Why not? You Malfoys are all the same. Sly, weak, freakish Pureblood maniacs. All you need is a Voldemort to order you around."

BANG. James's next curse creates a small crater in the wall behind Malfoy. I notice little beads of sweat on the ferret's forehead, and stifle a grin. I knew that James had missed his target on purpose. He's not a violent wizard. He just likes to scare Malfoy a lot.

"I. Am. Not. My. FATHER." Scorpius yells, sending another curse in James's direction.

In stark contrast to Malfoy's obvious hatred of this argument, James is thoroughly enjoying it; deflecting every curse sent at him with ease, a grin on his face.

"Yeah, you aren't your father, are you? At least he managed to HIT Dumbledore with that disarming spell."

That was the last straw, it seems, as Malfoy decides to chuck away his wand and charge at James – none of his spells were going through anyway.

James doesn't break a sweat though. Before Malfoy gets anywhere near him, he's hoisted upside down in the air as if an invisible hook had grabbed him by the ankle.

It's then I notice Professor Rigorosa at the far end of the corridor on my right. Urgh. James has gotten into enough trouble in his previous years. This is supposed to be his year to start over, and here is a teacher about to walk in on a fight that he probably caused. I decide that it's time to intervene.

"Stop!" I tell James, walking in between him and Malfoy. The latter falls in a _thump_ behind me.

"Get out of it Rose", James says, trying to get past me to hex his opponent again.

"You can't afford any more trouble. Please stop", I plead. "Rigorosa is nearby."

Finally, James lowers his wand. "Fine. You'll get it next time, Malfoy", he calls as he turns down the corridor and.

I watch him go, then bend down to grab the book I'd dropped in the process.

"Thanks for that", a voice behind me says. "You didn't have to do it."

What? The ferret actually thinks I stopped James for HIM? The nerve!

"I didn't do it for you, Death Eater", I snap. In the corner of my eye I see his fist coming dangerously close to my face. A sharp pain runs through my nose. As something wet hits my upper lip, I pull my wand out of my boot, turn around and hit Malfoy with a bat bogey hex.

Just as Professor Rigorosa decides to turn into the corridor.

"What is the meaning of this?!" he roars. I spin around, blood still dripping down my face. "Detentions, both of you, and 10 points from both your houses. I will see you in my office tomorrow evening. Hogwarts does not tolerate this kind of unruly behaviour!  
"I expected better from you, Miss Weasley", he adds, before sweeping off.

I point my wand at myself this time, putting my nose back in place while running these recent events over in my head. I. Do. Not. Get. Detentions. And now that miserable excuse for a wizard has just landed me one with the strictest teacher in Hogwarts! But remembering my vow to start ignoring Malfoy (which isn't going so well), I take a deep breath and head down the corridor. Having lost my appetite, I walk back to the Gryffindor common room, leaving Malfoy alone, still with big flappy things on his face.

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**Don't forget to review please :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the long wait! This chapter was hard. I've forgotten how confusing the male mind is.**

**Listen to while reading -Maroon 5: Harder to breathe /_Pz0K7Q-64A**

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I regret punching Weasel.

Don't get me wrong, she deserved it, but I wish it hadn't landed me in a gruelling detention with Rigorosa. I've had enough of them.

I pick at the food Madam Guaritore gave me after fixing up my face. Weasel and her family have an incessant need to make my miserable, it seems. Why can't they just leave me alone?

The bell rings, and I leave my still half-full plate on the bed before leaving the hospital wing. Double Charms next, which we share with the Hufflepuffs – fine by me. Abhiroop's really boring though. I don't know what the girls see in him.

After class I head to the Slytherin common room to get as much homework done as possible before dinner, because it's unlikely there will be any time after dinner. Thankfully there's still the weekend, but our teachers love piling on so much work for us to do that it's best to get it done as soon as possible.

It also means more sleep time tomorrow

Dan Baldwin joins me just as I finish a horrible Transfiguration essay.

"Hey mate", I say, not bothering to look up.

"Hey", he replies as he plonks down next to me. "You wanna come watch quidditch practice tonight?"

"Sorry, I can't", I reply, pulling out my Charms assignment.

"Why not?"

"Detention."

He gives me a knowing smile. "What for this time?"

"I punched Weasley in the face." I'm unable to hide a grin at this.

"Good on ya!" He slaps me on the back. "Which one?"

"Female. Hey, do you know the answer to number four?" I ask, pointing at my homework.

"I was going to copy off you."

We both groan as I scribble down a guess. Thankfully, I manage to finish the assignment with only a few guesses before dinner.

And now it is 8 o'clock, and time to head to Rigorosa's stupid detention. Weasel is already here, of course. I don't think she can physically be late to something.

"Mister Malfoy. Glad you could join us."

I'm not sure what he means by this, so I just nod.

"You know why you are here, correct?"

Urgh. Typical detention script.

"Yes, sir. Fighting is not tolerated at Hogwarts." Blah, blah, blah.

"Good. You two will be cleaning the Great Hall without magic. I'm sure Ms Filch will have plenty of supplies for you to use. Leave your wands here, and report back to my office when you are done." He motions for us to leave the room.

The _entire_ Great Hall? Is he joking? I've only ever had to do lines in detention.

I glare at Weasel. She's the one who got me into this mess.

"Thanks a lot", I mutter. She ignores me.

Ms Filch and her creepy cat are happy to hand over cleaning equipment. "It's nice to know that you troublemakers are finally learning how to help out around here. Maybe now you will appreciate how hard it is cleaning up after you lot." She says this all with a sneer.

Armed with buckets and mops and other obscure objects, we stumble to the Great Hall, meeting some sniggers along the way. It's tiresome, but I do get a kick out of how unhappy Weasel looks.

Any happy feelings disappear when we get to our destination though. It's huge without the house tables. We'll be here all night!

That last part I say out loud.

"Maybe you'll learn your lesson then", said Ms Filch before leaving us alone in the hall.

We silently pick up a mop each and start washing the floor. After what seems like hours I lean my mop against a wall and plonk down beside it, nursing my aching joints.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Weasel demands.

"Taking a break", I tell her.

"After ten minutes?" she yells. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm stuck here too. And if you don't work as hard as you can we'll be here all night!"

Yeah, Weasel really enjoys making my life miserable.

I start mopping again. She decides to mop right in front of me. I stare at her bushy hair, fascinated about how its colour matches exactly how angry I'm feeling right now.

Then she flicks her mane into my face, and I'm both literally and figuratively seeing red.

After another couple of hours, Weasel clears her throat.

"Can you answer me something? Why do you hate me so much?"

Well that was unexpected.

"Hate you? Why do _you_ hate _me_?"

"I asked you first."

"Well, my answer kind of depends on your answer", I say stubbornly.

"Urgh! Just forget it!" she exclaims before defiantly crossing the Hall and continuing to clean as far away from me as possible.

And so we continue in silence for a while longer.

Not long enough.

"What are you doing?" she yells at me again.

"What?" I was only mopping – and doing a pretty good job if you ask me.

"I already cleaned there!"

Would it hurt her to ask nicely? "Well maybe if you'd cleaned it _properly_ I wouldn't have mistaken it for a dirty floor!"

"Well maybe if you paid attention, we could be out of here before N.E.W.T.s!"

"Tell me what to do then, oh great _Professor Weasel_."

"_What_ did you just call me?"

"Profe –"

"Oh, just go clean the windows", she snaps, chucking a rag at me.

I don't bother trying to take it any further, and just snatch up the rag from the ground (yes, I missed it) before walking over to the windows.

When we finally finish, I collect up half the cleaning supplies and walk out the door. Weasel follows in my footsteps with the rest of them. Once we dump them in Ms Filch's office, I start heading to Rigorosa's office.

"What are you doing?" Weasel hisses at me as I make to knock on the door

"You really like that phrase, don't you?" I say.

She ignores this comment. "It's one o'clock in the morning! He'll be asleep!"

I press my ear to the door. "No, he's in there. You can hear him snoring."

"Exactly!"

"I don't see your point. He told us to report to his office when we we're done. We're done. So let's report."

"He's _asleep._"

"So? It's his fault for setting us this stupid detention. I don't think I'll ever be able to walk properly again", I say, rubbing my back.

She grabs my wrist as I reach to open the door. I glare at her, as angry as her hair.

"I dunno about you, but _I_ actually want to get some sleep". Before she can stop me, I open the door with my right hand and push inside. The snoring isn't so gentle in here.

I clear my throat. "Professor?"

Still snoring.

"PROFESSOR", I roar. He looks up from his desk, startled.

"I apologise for Malfoy's waking you", Weasel buts in.

"It's okay", he waves a hand then yawns. "I'd wake up in cramps if I had stayed like this. Let's go see your work."

Man, he must be tired. No snide comment?

He seems pretty pleased with our work. "I hope you learned something from this."

"Yes sir. I will never do it again.", Weasel says brightly. Urgh.

"Mister Malfoy?"

"Yes sir. Fighting is not tolerated in Hogwarts." Blah, blah, blah.

"Good. Now off to bed."

Finally.

I sink into the darkness and clear my mind of the previous events. Well, almost.

_The lion roars, showing off its sharp teeth. I hiss at it, but know it is no good.  
__The lion prepares to pounce. I slither off as fast as I can in the opposite direction.  
The lion charges after me, covering two paces to each of my one.  
The lion snaps its jaws, sheltering half my slim body in its mouth._

I wake up, panting. I've had that nightmare before.

But only now do I realise why its mane was that exact shade of red.

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**Thanks for reading! Please review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

I hide my face as well as I can behind the cleaning products I'm carrying. Why did I have to get a detention? I glare at Malfoy as best I can between buckets. It's all his fault I've broken my perfect record and am now being sent to clean the Great Hall like a common rule-breaker.

It's not only his fault, but he insists on doing next to no work while I slave away to get through this as fast as possible. It's like he doesn't even care. He probably doesn't.

But _I_ do – care that is – and it's common manners to look out at what the other person is doing when you are cleaning an entire room. He should have known I'd already cleaned there. I know where _he's_ cleaned. (Which is hardly anywhere.)

And then, when we finally finish, he goes and wakes up Professor Rigorosa, who would have bitten our heads off – or worse, given us another detention – if he was in a normal mood. Thankfully for us, a suspicious-looking potion bottle on his deck had most of the contents drained, but he still shouldn't have woken a teacher up at 1am. And he wouldn't have thought to do it if he's worked harder in the Great Hall; we probably would have finished a lot earlier if he had.

Urgh!

I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, and have a long sleep. So long that I miss breakfast. At least it's the weekend.

I casually throw some clothes on and head down to the floor below the Great Hall to answer my growling stomach. After tickling a pear, I step into the kitchens and look around at the house-elves.

"Miss Wosie, Miss Wosie!" a voice squeaks as a tiny elf jumps and wraps her arms around my waist.

"Hello Dinky", I say to the young elf, pulling her up to rest on my hip.

"Dinky was missing Miss Wosie so much!" she declares, her pencil-like nose quivering with excitement.

"I missed you too. I've just been caught up studying hard for my O.W.L.s."

A stern look crosses her wrinkled face. "Miss Wosie shouldn't study too hard", she tells me. "Miss Wosie needs to have fun too."

I laugh. "Of course, Dinky."

"Excuse me Miss", another house-elf squeaks. "Will Miss be wanting anything while Miss is down here?"

'Oh, yes please", I say, remembering the reason I'd come down to the kitchens. "Is there any leftover breakfast? I slept in."

The house-elf bows and scuttles off to work.

"Miss Wosie slept in? But Miss Wosie never sleeps in!" Dinky's brown eyes stared at me.

"I stayed up late last night", I tell her. "I had a d-d-detention."

"Why is Miss Wosie getting a detention? Miss Wosie is a good girl!"

"I was defending myself from an attack."

"Who is attacking Miss Wosie? Tell Dinky so Dinky can make them sorry!" She makes fists with her tiny hands and punches the air so hard she almost falls out of my arms.

"That won't be necessary", I say, gently placing a hand on her curled fists.

Just then, the other house-elves offer a tray of food to me. I glance at the huge array of bacon, eggs, toast, and other bits and pieces.

"Wow, guys. You've really outdone yourself."

The house-elves beam as I carefully put Dinky down and take the tray from them. They watch as I eat, making sure everything is to my satisfaction. I can't see how anyone could be mean to these wonderful creatures.

"So, Dinky", I say in between mouthfuls. "What have you been doing?"

"Dinky is very busy. Dinky helps with dinner now, as well as lunch and breakfast. Next year Dinky will be able to clean around the castle!"

I remember when I first met Dinky. James was showing Albus and me where the kitchens were in our first year. A very tiny, very squeaky (even compared to the other house-elves) elf caught my eye in the corner of the room. She was struggling to stir a huge pot, so naturally I went over to help her. We've been friends ever since.

As Dinky relays her adventures of tea-making to me, I feel slightly guilty that it takes a detention for me to come see her nowdays. What a great friend I am.

"That's wonderful Dinky", I say after I've eaten as much as I can stomach. "I promise to come visit you more often from now on, okay?"

"Okay Miss Wosie!"

I hug her, say thank you to the other house-elves, and leave the kitchen. I plan to go back to the common room to study, but I bump into Albus before I can get there.

"Hey Al", I say, smiling at him.

"Hey Rose! We just finished our morning training. How did the detention go?"

"Shhh!" Albus was the only person I told about my detention, and I'd prefer it to stay that way.

"Sorry." He lowers his voice. "Getting a detention isn't that bad, you know. I've had some, Hugo has too, and James has had plenty!"

I laugh with him, but don't accept what he says.

"But that's _you._ Rose Weasley doesn't get detentions."

"She does now", he grins. I punch him lightly in the arm.

"Where are you going now?" I ask.

"Oh, probably to the library to put a dent in the huge pile of homework our teachers keep adding to. Wanna come?"

"I've already finished my homework, but I'll come and study beside you," I agree.

He ignores the comment about the homework – he's used to it by now – and we walk to the common room to grab our stuff and then head to the library.

Also in the library is a face I was hoping not to see, but I force myself to think about something other than the ferret and sit in the farthest part of the library as possible.

Albus finishes his homework in the next two hours – he's an 'accomplished minimalist', to use his words. He then starts studying with me. As he wants to be an Auror like Uncle Harry, he has to pass most of his subjects, and he's got an underlying fear of failing, something he's only shared with me. We're very similar in that regard. However, to him, detentions don't count as failure.

"Hey Rosie", I hear a voice call across the library. After a loud 'Shhh' from Madam Patil, James comes over to me and slaps me on the back. Without lowering his voice, he says, "I heard you had your first detention last night. Welcome to the club!"

"James!" I hiss, then remember he shouldn't know in the first place. "Albus!"

"He asked where you were. I couldn't exactly lie, could I?" Albus shrugs.

"So, what did you do?" James enquires.

"Yeah, Rose, what did you do?" Albus echoes. I hadn't told him the details of my detention yesterday.

"You know how I stopped you hexing Malfoy yesterday?" I say slowly. They both nod, so I guess they discussed more than why I was missing yesterday. "Well, the git thought I did it for him, and when I set him straight, he punched me in the face. Of course, I hexed him myself after that, just as Rigorosa was walking past."

"He punched you in the face? Oh, he's going to get it next time." James growls. "Nobody attacks my family."

"At least he got a detention too, right?" Albus reasons.

"Like he actually did any work", I mutter. "Anyways, can we stop talking about him? It's making me nauseous."

"Sure, cuz. And although I'd love to spend the rest of the afternoon with you lovely fifth-years, I have a girlfriend to meet."

"Which one?" I ask innocently, causing Albus to double over laughing, which earns us another glare from Patil. James scowls.

"My love life is none of your business", he says haughtily, then saunters off.

Albus and I continue studying together for the rest of the afternoon. I tell him what's happening in _Romeo and Juliet._ He yawns. He tells me about how Gryffindor quidditch team is going. I yawn. Then we laugh, because it's nice to have someone to yawn with.

After dinner I head to bed early to continue my book. Surprisingly, the rest of my dorm joins me. No matter how hard I try, though, it's hard to completely shut out their conversation.

"So you really think it will work?"

"As long as we all concentrate really, really hard."

"You guys ready?"

There is a scuffle, then all four of them cry "Accio!"

I look up to see what they are summoning. Into the room flies quite a few pieces of paper, falling in front of Kendra Dunbar's bed, which all of them were sitting on.

"We should sort them first", she suggests as I turn back to my book. There's no use in trying to figure out what they're up to.

"Good idea."

I hear papers shuffling, then whispers.

"Hey Rose, wanna help?"

I look up, shocked. They've never included me before. I've never _wanted_ to be included. I like my books.

"Yeah?" I say.

"Cool. What would you rate this guy out of ten?", Daisy Green says, grabbing a random piece of paper from the pile.

I glance at the face on it. "Uh, that's my cousin", I tell them. Daisy turns the photo around.

"Oh! Heh. Well I'd rate him… seven."

"Six."

"Seven."

"Ten."

We all look at Awhero.

"What?" she shrugs. "You know I like him." I make a mental note to ask Albus what he thinks of Awhero.

"Looks like he goes in the 'hot' pile then", Daisy says, placing his photo to the side. "Next."

I look at the photo she's holding up and see the face of Malfoy sneering at me. I don't hesitate before answering "Two".

"What!" Kendra practically shrieks.

"He's dreamy", Daisy adds.

I shrug. "Not to me."

Needless to say, they don't ask for my opinion again. I look back to my book.

In all honesty, I actually think Malfoy is an eight. Maybe even a nine. (No more than a nine point eight though – not everyone can be as perfect as Adonis.) I just can't see past his spiteful comments, and the Pureblood mania he holds so dear. Plus, he's a Malfoy, and even thinking about a Malfoy in that way makes me sick. Then again, thinking about Malfoy in any way makes me sick.

Sighing, I turn to the next act in _Romeo and Juliet_.

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**Anyone catch the AVPM reference?**

**Sorry for the lack of song this week. Don't forget to review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay. Thanks to all the followers already - I hope to post the next chapter more quickly.**

**Listen to while reading - Demi Lovato - Believe in Me **** /hQatX_y9Rjw**

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I don't usually go to the library. I prefer to do my homework in the common room, usually with Dan, and all the information I need is in my textbooks (or should be). Also, you can't make too much noise in a library. Not that I usually want to make lots of noise, but I don't like being restricted.

However, Dan has quidditch practice, so I sneak off to the library before I get roped into watching.

Yes, I don't like quidditch. I've never told anyone this, least of all my father, who thinks I didn't try out for the quidditch team because I wanted to concentrate on my O.W.L.s. It's bad enough that the know-it-all Weasel keeps showing me up in class; I don't need another reason for my father to be disappointed in me.  
And so that's how I ended up in the lamest place at Hogwarts, struggling through a Potions essay. Yes, moonstone is used in potion making. Is there anything else to say?

I reach for my Potions textbook to see if I can take anything of use, but my fingers grab only air.

Darn. I've left my text book in the dorm.

Sighing, I get up and start scanning the shelves to see if the library is carrying a spare copy. _Damaging spells; Dittany; _No good, this is the D's. I start to turn away and find the P's, but something catches my eye.

_Dreams and Nightmares._

An image of the lion with Weasel's hair pops into my mind, its jaws open wide, ready to snap up my limbless body…

I shudder. It would be nice to know why I constantly had that nightmare. My potions essay pushed to the back of my mind, I grab the book off the shelf and go back to my table.

I open the contents page, then flick to Chapter III (Recurring dreams and nightmares).

_There are two main reasons dreams recur. If the dream is of a prophesising nature and it is occurring regularly, it usually means that what it is foretelling is of great importance. If it is not, then it is likely that the dream involves something the dreamer dwells on regularly.  
__To remind yourself as to the difference between prophesising dreams and non, refer back to Chapter 2._

It then goes on to explain the different sorts of prophesising dreams and what it means if they are recurring. I certainly hope my nightmare isn't a prophecy. It does seem unlikely though, so I skip that part and move to part two, scanning it quickly.

_If a witch or wizard dwells on something while they are awake, it is likely their subconscious will too…  
…__sometimes certain spells can have a side effect that results in recurring dreams…  
__…__check the back of this book for ways to stop a dream or nightmare from returning…_

Ignoring the rest of the chapter, I turn to the back of the book. It contains a recipe for an extremely complicated potion that would result in a dreamless sleep for the drinker, as long as it is drunk every night, and a spell just as complicated to try and rid the memory of the dream from the brain, with a warning that it might make your head explode if not done correctly.

Sighing, I snap the book shut. I'll just stick with the nightmares.

I put the book away somewhere near where it had been, then search for the potions textbook to continue my essay. I manage to get halfway through it before a distraction occurs in the form of a Weasel.

I grit my teeth. Just because she's the _queen _of the library (and no, that's not a compliment) doesn't mean that she can come in here chatting away like no one is trying to work here. Her hair – as red as the anger I feel each time I see her – is tied back, showing off her whole pretty face.

What. The. Heck.

Ew.

Weasel isn't pretty. Not really anyway. Urgh. Thinking about her like this makes my head hurt.

I push all disturbing thoughts away from my mind and try to focus on the essay that takes me another hour to complete.

The same paper gets slapped down in front of me as Rigorosa passes by my desk two days later. I glance at the 'A' scrawled in red and sigh with relief. Ever since the teachers started marking homework by O.W.L. standards I've never gotten a pass mark for a potions essay until now. At least I'm improving.

But not fast enough. 'A' is definitely not good enough for my father. I sigh again.

"Hey, well done Scorpius!" Dan says, looking over to my result.

"What'd you get?" I ask him.

"Dreadful", he shrugs. "No biggie though; I rushed it in the spare time between quidditch and dinner, after all."

I envy his carefree attitude. If only life was that easy.

I leave with the rest of the class and head to Arithmancy. That's one of the perks of having your father pick out your classes – you get stuck with awful options.

Guess the one person who doesn't find Arithmancy horrible. That's right – Weasel.

I try and concentrate while Arthmoss drones on about the correct way to draw certain glyphs, but end up doodling a not very flattering portrait of her on the edge of my parchment instead. I take great pleasure in enlarging the waves of fat rolling down her squat body, and adding more chins to her already large collection. The end result is quite satisfying. Definitely worth a place in my notebook.

"Mister Malfoy!" she barks, interrupting train of thought. "What did you get for question six?"

"Uh…" I glance nervously around to see if anyone else had the answer, and read it off Weasel's homework.

Hey, even pests have their use sometimes.

She spots me doing this, however, and covers up her work while Arthmoss looks impressed and carries on with her droning.

"Cheater", Weasel hisses at me while the professor's back is turned. I just smile smugly and turn away, wondering if I'd be able to capture that ugly look on parchment.

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**Thanks again for reading! Sorry if I ruined your dreams by not making Scorpius a quidditch fan. I just wanted him to have a major difference from his father, and quidditch seemed the best one.**

**Please review. I want to know how you think the story's going so far, and if there are any specific things you think I should add. See you (hopefully) before next week! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**So sorry guys! I must have accidentally deleted the end of this chapter - the most important part as well. D:**

**I did manage to find a song though, so something good came from this :)**

**Listen to while reading - Taylor Swift - Untouchable /iEwkG0U0Qmo**

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Urgh. I hate that Malfoy has so much control over me. Just one little thing – that's all it takes for my day to be ruined. Stupid ferret.

I walk out of Arithmancy feeling sulky. That is, until Adonis passes me in the hall. All thoughts of that miserable little brat fly out of my head and my knees feel weak.

I've got it bad.

I daydream about him all the way to the Great Hall. I'm not usually a dreamer, but my parent's friend, Luna, has always told us to let our mind wander if it wants to.

"Uh, Rose? Have you been listening to anything I've said?"

I look up, startled.

"Of course", I say, racking my brain to try and remember what we were talking about.

"Then why have you written 'I love A' in a big heart on your parchment?"

My ears suddenly become very hot. "Uh…"

Albus laughs. "So, who's the guy?" he asks, nudging me in a very Jameslike manner.

I've never told anyone about Adonis before, but telling Albus should be safe, right? I look around to see if the coast is clear before whispering "Adonis". The blush on my ears creeps to my face.

"You like Adonis?" James proclaims loudly from behind us. I whip around, trying to shush him. "My friend, Adonis?"

"Do you know another Adonis?" Albus replies, very unhelpfully.

Hugo, who I thought had been in a very deep conversation with his 3rd year friends, decides to join in. "Rosie's got a boyfriend!"

I cover my face with my hands. This has gone out of control. "I do _not_. Shut up guys."

"Oh come on! We're just teasing you Rosie", James grins.

I give James a hardened look. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"'Course not. Gobstoner's honour." He hold up four fingers in a mock salute.

I narrow my eyes. "You're not _in_ the Gobstones club."

"Doesn't mean I don't play", James says innocently, then walks off before I can say anything else.

I wait anxiously all week for the gossip to spread around, but this time the Hogwarts grapevine doesn't act up. Or maybe I'm just not that gossip-worthy. Probably the latter.

It's prefect duty this week, so I get all my homework done extra early because I'll be extremely tired after patrolling the castle all night. Thankfully, the prefects only have patrol every other week – the teachers and Ms Filch do the rest.

Albus is the other Gryffindor prefect but we're not supposed to patrol together so we go our separate ways at 9 o'clock Friday night, when the shift starts.

After two months of doing this I have my route memorised. Down the Fat Lady's corridor, take a right. Take the next left and go down the staircase. Round the corner and –

"Hey."

I'm so startled I drop my wand, so the light on the end goes out. Whoever is in front of me vanishes into the darkness before I can get a good look at them.

I stoop down and run my hand over the ground, feeling for my wand. Instead, I met the person's hand. I try to pull away, embarrassed, but they hold tight, interlocking their fingers with mine.

Now this is beyond weird.

"Who are you?" I ask, my voice trembling slightly.

The person doesn't answer, but instead mutters "Lumos", causing their own wand to light.

Catching sight of the person's face for the first time, I stumble backwards in surprise, and would have tripped if he hadn't caught me.

"A-Adonis?" I stutter.

He grins, and even though it's a very confusing moment, I still can't help feeling weak at the knees at his perfect smile. I'm glad that he still has a hand on my back, supporting me and my wobbly legs.

"I heard you have a thing for me", he says, matter-of-factly. I turn away, glad that my bushy hair is covering my traitor ears.

"Uh…" is all I manage to say.

"I just wanted to tell you I have a thing for you too."

What? Did Adonis, _the_ Adonis, the Adonis I've been dreaming about since second year, really just say he likes me? He can't have. I must have misheard.

"Really?" I squeak. Wow. I'm sure he's really wooed by my great impersonation of Dinky.

"Really", he replies, looking so hot I think I'll melt on the spot. He moves his hand to my neck, and begins to pull my face to his, then gently kissing me on the lips.

I'm too shocked to move for a moment, but I force myself to the present and join in with the motions.

But something doesn't feel right.

Maybe I just need to get into it more, I tell myself. After all, I am kissing the hottest guy in all of Hogwarts.

I rake my hands through his hair and then push him up against the wall (to some portraits' loud objections), deepening the kiss. He responds with equal enthusiasm, rubbing his hands down my back and through my hair.

It still feels wrong though.

What is wrong with me? Here I am, kissing the one boy I have thought about more than anyone, and I'm not enjoying it. At all. It's like kissing a very enthusiastic pillow – i.e. no spark whatsoever. Maybe I just don't like Adonis as much as I thought I did.

So when he takes his hands off my back for whatever reason, I take the opportunity to pull back from him.

Unable to look at his face, I stare at his lit wand, shoved in one of the pockets in his muggle jeans, until the after-image is burned into my mind.

"Adonis, I'm so –"

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

"What?" I look up, shocked. He's not looking at me though; instead he's glaring over my shoulder. I turn and see the pale face of Malfoy glowing eerily in the wandlight. My face grows very hot. I wouldn't like anyone to catch me snogging someone, but somehow, the fact that it's Malfoy makes it so much worse.

"Actually, as a prefect, I have more right to be here than you", he sneers.

"Go away Malfoy", I say, trying to get this over with quickly. "This is the Gryffindor patrol area."

"Well, the Gryffindor prefect isn't doing a very good job at patrolling at the moment", he says snidely.

Before I can think of a retort, Adonis steps in. "Come on Rose, we shouldn't let him stop us. If he wants a show, we can give him a show!"

Then he promptly tries to stick a hand up my robe, planting his lips on mine again.

I push him off. Always trust your instinct - that's another thing Luna says. In any case, I don't want to lead Adonis on.

"I'm sorry Adonis. I can't do this."

His face darkens.

"You may be one of the brightest witches at this school, but it takes an extremely powerful wizard to be able to break out of petrification without help", he hisses only loud enough for me to hear. "But it's _so_ much more exciting when they kiss back."

I stare at the ground while he says this. My wand had fallen about a metre to my left. I wonder how quickly I can grab it...

"Mente Mutaret!"

Adonis's eyes glaze over and he turns and heads down the corridor. If I did the spell correctly (and there's every chance I didn't) he should be making his way to the Fat Lady's portrait and getting into bed, thinking I'm the most disgusting girl in the world. Or something like that.

I start back on my patrol, thoughts of the recent events colliding in my mind. I only realise later that Malfoy is out there, armed with an idea that I make out with guys and then alter their memories. It makes me feel so much worse than it should.

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**Sorry that I had to re-submit it. Hope you guys liked this chapter!**

**Please review :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello there! Now it's holidays, hopefully I'll be able to update more quickly.**

**Listen to while reading - /lg516PSgG5I**

**(For those who don't know, copy and past the letters after youtube . com to find the song.)**

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"Prefect duty is _so_ lame. We're supposed to be better than the rest of the students, and they treat us like slaves!" Pia Lamenter whines. "Why don't we skip patrolling today, and do something more… _exciting_?"

Urgh. I've never had the desire to kiss Pia, and I'm not starting now. Dan's the one that likes her, and that's only because he has no idea what she's really like.

Honestly, it must really say something about the state of the noble Slytherin house that she became a prefect.

She doesn't even have her wand out, let alone lit, so it's easy to lose her by putting my own wand out and going down random corridors. It's not like there's an official route that we have to follow. It does pay to stick to the Slytherin area however.

Which I end up leaving. Hey – it's hard to navigate in the dark. I pull my wand out and mutter, "Lumos", causing the hallway to light up in front of me.

I turn around some corners, trying to find my way back to familiar territory. However, I find myself running into something that makes me stop in my tracks.

It's Weasel, sucking the face off a guy I don't know. After the initial disgust, I feel a twinge of jealousy in my stomach, which is weird. If I wanted to act like a limpet, I would have stayed with Pia.

I mull over the idea of turning them in, but before I can do anything, the guy looks over Weasel's shoulder, right at me.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he demands, like he owns the castle. I point out that as a prefect, I have more right to be here than him.

"This is Gryffindor patrol area", Weasel says.

"Well, the Gryffindor prefect isn't doing a very good job at patrolling at the moment, is she?" I retort, causing her to go bright red.

"Come on Rose, we shouldn't let him stop us. If he wants a show, we can give him a show!" the other boy declares before sticking his loud mouth back on hers.

Urgh. I really don't want a show.

I turn around and try to figure out where the closest teacher's office is. It's probably Fortiter's – would he still be awake? It's only about nine thirty; he should be.

My thoughts are interrupted by Weasel shouting out a spell. It's not one I've heard of before, but the way she's yelling it could bring all the teachers down here. I whip around to tell her to shut it, but the corridor's empty.

Odd.

I shrug to myself. Does it really matter to me what Weasel was up to?

The answer is no. Or at least, it should be.

I shake my head, clearing my thoughts, then find my way back to the dungeons, making sure to steer clear of Pia. I've had enough unwanted excitement for one night.

I try for the rest of the weekend to forget about Weasel. I even go to Quidditch practice, though all that does is help me catch up on my sleep. However, the incantation she shouted lingers in my brain. Overcome by curiosity, I finally give up and head to the Library again.

Merlin – two times in two weeks? I'm turning into such a geek.

Not wanting to have to spend too long, I go find Madam Patil, who is in the middle of putting books away. Don't ask me why she doesn't use magic to shelve them. Seems like a boring time-waster to me.

"Excuse me, is there a book about, uh, spells and incantations?"

"Is this for schoolwork, or do you just want to increase your knowledge of spells?" she asks, still shelving books though keeping one eye trained on me.

"Well, just one specific spell, really."

Patil raises an eyebrow. "What sort of spell?"

"Mente Mutaret."

She stops mid-shelf, hand halfway between the cart and the top shelf. "That's a very demanding spell, boy. Difficult for even a N.E.W.T. student to perform successfully, let alone a fifteen-year-old."

"Typical", I mutter. Of course, Weasel has to be two steps ahead of everyone else, doesn't she?

Patil starts shelving books again.

"I don't actually need to know how to do the spell. All I want to know is what it does", I tell her.

"Is that all? Mente Mutaret is the memory-altering spell. It was used a lot by Voldemort and his follow –"

Patil stops mid-sentence, obviously remembering whose son I was. "Anyway, it has been used a lot in history." She then pushes her cart further along the aisle, leaving me standing there, infuriated.

Something that annoys me a lot more than petty little know-it-alls is how people avoid the subject of the Wizarding Wars in my presence. It's like they think they know everything there is to know about me. Some assume I'm a mindless Death-Eater that will point my wand at them the minute they get on my nerves. Others treat me like some poor orphan child who didn't have a proper upbringing. Even my friends avoid the subject with me, though that's probably because I blew up in their faces the first time the mentioned it. (Asking your friend if their granddad was still in Azkaban is _not_ the best way to go about bringing up a touchy subject.) All of them, though, think I'll explode or something if they talk about it. It's not like I was actually involved in the War myself. I'm not my father.

Ignoring that though, I now know what spell Weasel used, and have come to the disturbing conclusion that she altered that guy's memory after sucking his face off. However, I am safe in the knowledge that Weasel hates me enough that she will stick to mindless sixth or seventh years and will leave me and the rest of my Slytherin friends alone. Slut.

I head to dinner with the matter out of my mind, and happily join in with the banter about next week's Hogsmeade trip.

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**This chapter was shorter than I expected. I hope it gives a bit more insight to Scorpius's personality though.**

**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I am ****_so_**** sorry guys! To apologise for the lack of updates, I will post the next Chapter tomorrow!**

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The minute I spot James the next day I pull him into an empty corridor and confront him about his poor choice in friends.

"Are you sure, Rose? Maybe you misheard him."

I shake my head. "I'm certain."

"I can't believe him!" His face hardens. "Oh, he's going to get it. No one messes with my family."

"Thanks for the support James, but that won't be necessary."

"Yes it will. He deserves it."

"Yeah, but he kind of has no memory of last night."

"What did you do?" He eyes me suspiciously.

"I may or may not have altered his memory…"

"Heh. That's our Rosie – always one step ahead." He ruffles my hair. "But still, whether or not he has memory of what he did, he still deserves to pay."

"Uh oh. You've got that mischievous look in your eye. What are you planning?"

"You'll see, cuz", he laughs. "Thanks for letting me know about Adonis. See you around!"

It doesn't take long to find out what James was planning. The next day, the whole school is talking about Adonis's green skin.

"I was looking for a target to test out the new Wheeze. Seems pretty lame on the surface, but that green skin comes with some nasty side effects", James tells Albus and me.

"Like what?"

"You don't want to know." He winks, then leaves us to our homework.

"I don't get it. Adonis is one of James's best friends. Why'd he prank him?" Albus says.

"Maybe he just realised how much of a jerk Adonis really is."

Albus looks at me weirdly. "I thought you liked Adonis."

"I'm over him now", I shrug. "I need to finish this essay now, so be quiet."

Albus still looks confused, but he seems to accept it, getting back to his own work.

I like Monday mornings. I have both my favourite subject and my second favourite subject, one after the other. But then I have double History of Magic, which nobody likes. Well, you win some, you lose some, and I certainly enjoy Charms and Arithmancy a lot more than I dislike HoM.

Charms is my favourite subject, not Arithmancy, for many reasons. The spells are, in my opinion, the most important we'll learn at Hogwarts. Sure, Potions and Transfiguration are fun (extremely fun), but unless you plan to go into a career that requires that sort of knowledge, Charms is best. It doesn't hurt that I have a tiny crush on Professor Abhiroop as well. (I try to ignore it though – I don't want anything getting in the way of schoolwork, and Mum has always warned me against teacher crushes.)

I sit beside Albus as usual, while we practice our _Colovaria_s and discuss the Hogsmeade visit that is scheduled next week. It's the last one before Christmas so we're going to do our shopping there. Albus is hoping we can tag along with James to try and advise him on his shopping.

"All I want is a nice _normal_ present from him this year. Not another stinkin' prank that he's hoodwinked to backfire in my face."

"As much as I'd love a normal present from him as well, I'd rather not go shopping with - hey, good work!" The frog that he's working on has turned from green to bright red. He manages to turn it all seven colours of the rainbow by the time the bell rings. I think my own frog has gone about 50 shades of pink.

"See you in History of Magic!" Albus calls, as he walks down the corridor to go outside for Care of Magical Creatures.

Another reason why I prefer Charms to Arithmancy is the people in the classes. Honestly, I have no idea why Malfoy does Arithmancy in the first place – he's terrible at it. Maybe it's just to make my life miserable. I wouldn't be surprised.

I usually try and ignore Malfoy, but today, for what is the first time ever, I actually go over to talk to him. I really don't want him to get the wrong idea about me – even though it _is_ Malfoy and I don't care what he thinks.

"Malfoy."  
"Weasley. What do you want?"

"What happened on Friday night – it wasn't what it looked like."

"You know what Weasley? I don't care. Make out with a million boys if you want. Just stay away from me."

"Don't worry. I plan to", I snarl. As if I would even _think_ about touching Malfoy. He is so full of himself. If we weren't in a classroom, I'd probably have hexed him right then and there. We are in a classroom though, so I turn on my heels and go sit down at my desk, ready to concentrate on something other than the miserable little brat.

"What are you looking at Al?"

Albus jumps. "Nothing", he replies, too quickly.

I look in the direction he was staring to find the rest of the girls from my dorm. "Are you staring at a _girl_, Al? I didn't realise you knew they existed."

"Ha ha", he says sarcastically.

"So? Who is it?"

He shakes his head and takes another bite of chicken.

"Aw, come on. I told you about Adonis."

"Yeah, who you got over in about five minutes."

"Can I guess?"

He sighs. "Fine."

"Ablia? She's the smartest."

"You got enough smarts to last everyone a lifetime, Rose. It's not her."

A memory of Awhero declaring Albus a 10 pops into my mind. It would be really cute if they liked each other.

"Awhero?"

He turns bright red.

"I'm right, aren't I? You know, she likes you too. She told me the other week."

"Really?"

"Well, in passing. You should ask her out!"

"You sure?"

"Course I'm sure. When have I ever been wrong about something?"

"Good point", he laughs. "I'll ask her later."

"No, now!"

"Fine", he says as I push him off his seat.

While he walks off, I continue eating, wondering if I just lost my shopping partner for the Hogsmeade trip.

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**Please review! I'd really love to hear your feedback on how this is going. Speed going okay? Is there anything you want me to add? Any plot holes? Grammar / spelling errors? Just want to say that you are in love with James? I want to know!**

**By the way, Awhero's name is pronounced "A - fe - ro". (Roll the 'r'!)**


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